Emperor, but which Emperor?

On · Category: Brush Footed Butterflies · Add Comment

Subject: A Tawny Emperor, I think
Location: San Antonio, TX
May 20, 2013 7:07 pm
Hi, guys, had a visitor to my patio garden today, and I was able to get a couple of good shots. I think it’s a Tawny Emperor, Asterocampa clyton. But I can’t tell if it’s a Louisa Tawny or a Texas Tawny. I’m leaning toward the Texas Tawny because the colors were pretty subdued. On the other hand, it was pretty sizable, an inch and a half at least. Any way, you haven’t posted a photo of a Tawny in a couple of years, so I thought I’d submit her. Thanks for all you do!!
Signature: Melvis & Laugh

Tawny Emperor

Tawny Emperor

Dear Melvis & Laugh,
Here at What’s That Bug? we tend to be generalists more the specificists, so we are not certain that we can correctly identify your Emperor to the species level.  We will leave that for the Lepidopterists among our readership.  We did consider your comment that the colors were pretty subdued” so we attempted to correct the situation.  The wall appeared green to us so we neutralized it which added some warmth to the Emperor’s wings.  We do believe it resembles this particular Tawny Emperor on BugGuide.

Think you’re right, Daniel.  Missed that one.  Thanks for taking the time to look!  Hope we have more to send you soon!

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Click Beetle from Canada: Selatosomus species

On · Category: Click Beetles · 2 Comments

Subject: Can you tell me
Location: PEI Canada
May 20, 2013 5:33 am
we found this bug on Haskaps we grow and would like to know what it is
Signature: Tommy

Metallic Borer Beetle

Click Beetle

Dear Tommy,
This is a Metallic Borer Beetle or Jewel Beetle in the family Buprestidae.  We need to research the species and we may run out of time this morning.  Our initial search did not provide a species ID so we will try to contact Eric Eaton and perhaps one of our readers will submit a comment today.

Correction courtesy of Eric Eaton and Mardikavana (via comment)
Daniel:
That is because it is not a buprestid :-)   This is a click beetle, family Elateridae (note acute hind angles on the thorax), specifically this one:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/456972
Neat find, great image!
Eric

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Copiphora hastata: Conehead Katydid from Costa Rica

On · Category: Katydids · Add Comment

Subject: Spear bearer
Location: Costa Rica
May 19, 2013 2:36 pm
We saw different of these insects. Are these females of Cophiphora?
Signature: fred from belgium

Katydid

Conehead Katydid

Hi Fred,
We will contact Piotr Naskrecki to get assistance with this female Katydid from Costa Rica.  The “cone” on the head does seem to be consistant with Cophiphora photos online, including these on National Geographic Stock and on FlickR.

Conehead Katydid

Conehead Katydid

Piotr Naskrecki discovers new species of Katydid in Costa Rica:  Copiphora hastata
Hi Daniel,
This is actually one of the species that I discovered and described, Copiphora hastata. These wonderful animals use their long ovipositor to lay eggs among dead leaf fronds at the base of palm trees.
Cheers,
Piotr

 

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Possibly Tent Caterpillar Nest or Fall Webworm Nest

On · Category: Tent Caterpillars and Kin, Woolly Bears · Add Comment

Subject: Nest
Location: Southwestern Pennsylvania 18mi north of Pittsburgh
May 19, 2013 10:17 pm
Today I photographed and interesting cocoon like nest, with a bunch of something(maybe insects) inside.
I’ve never seen a nest like this in the trees. It may, for all I know, it may be a small, tent caterpillar’s nest.
But the ones I’ve always seen are much larger.
I didn’t dig into the nest to find out ’cause I didn’t want to intrude on the bugs. Any Ideas?
Signature: Rich

Nest might belong to Tent Caterpillars

Nest might belong to Tent Caterpillars

Dear Rich,
We agree with you that this might be the newly started nest of a recently hatched colony of Eastern Tent Caterpillars.  We will try to get a second opinion from Eric Eaton.  More information on the Eastern Tent Caterpillar can be found on BugGuide.  As an aside, we will be flying into Pittsburgh in a few weeks to visit family.

Possibly Tent Caterpillar Nest

Possibly Tent Caterpillar Nest

Eric Eaton provides another possibility
Daniel:
Tough call.  I’m thinking Fall Webworm, as they tend to make webs on the outer reaches of branches, whereas tent caterpillars build webs in the crotches of branches, often several “tents” to one tree, or in a series of trees close to each other.  Fall Webworm tends to have more isolated colonies.
Eric

Thank you so much for the return email.
Have a good trip and a great stay at, “Da Burgh”.
Thank you both again for the rapid response and ID.
Isn’t it a bit early for webber caterpillars to appear?
Richard Rich

Once we received Eric’s response, we pondered the time of year.  Tent Caterpillars already have established nests in the spring and Fall Webworms are most noticeable later in the season, but they do begin hatching earlier.  Your “nest” might be the beginning of what will become a substantial “web” later this year.

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Chrysanthemum Lace Bugs

On · Category: Lace Bugs · Add Comment

Subject: Bug on sunflowers
Location: Southern Nevada
May 19, 2013 10:19 pm
I have a bunch of these bugs showing up on my sunflowers in my garden. I live in Boulder City Nevada, which sits right on the border of Arizona and Nevada, about 30 miles south of Las Vegas. They appeared about a week ago, so the middle of May. I just want to know if they are harmful, helpful or neutral to my garden.
Signature: Rich

Chrysanthemum Lace Bugs

Chrysanthemum Lace Bugs

Hi Rich,
Your sunflower has Lace Bugs in the family Tingidae.  Lace Bugs are True Bugs and they do not bite nor chew leaves, but rather they use their piercing and sucking mouthparts to draw nourishment from the plant fluids.  Normally we don’t attempt to identify Lace Bugs to the species level, and your photo is lacking in the type of essential detail for such an identification, however, since you provided a food plant, we gave it a shot and we believe you have Chrysanthemum Lace Bugs, Corythucha marmorata, which according to BugGuide commenter L. T. Miller are:  “Common in many composite flowers.”  According to the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) website:  “Chrysanthemum lace bugs feed on asters, sunflowers, and goldenrods, injuring the plant by their piercing and sucking. The excrement is strategically placed along the vein and secures the eggs to the leaf.  They prefer the underside of the leaf but will also colonize the upper side when the population is high. Nymphs are small and shiny brown, and they suck sap. Young nymphs congregate on the underside of the leaves. In dry weather, high populations can cause particularly severe damage.  Hover-fly larvae, lady beetles, and lace-wing larvae will prey on these garden pests. Daily water sprays can be highly effective at reducing the population. U of I Extension suggests treating plants with horticulture oil, insecticidal soap, neem oil, or imidacloprid.” 

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Giant Water Bug from Greece

On · Category: Toe Biters and other Aquatic True Bugs · Add Comment

Subject: beetle?
Location: thassos, greece
May 20, 2013 12:27 am
Hi, we found it on the beach , I ’ve never seen so big insect around, can you determine it?
Signature: george

Giant Water Bug

Hi George,
This is a Giant Water Bug in the family Belostomatidae.  They are predatory aquatic insects that are also capable of flight when their habitat dries up.  Giant Water Bugs are commonly called Toe-Biters in North America, because although they are not aggressive toward humans, they will give a painful bite if carelessly handled or accidentally encountered.

 

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Newly Hatched Wheel Bugs

On · Category: Assassin Bugs · Add Comment

Subject: bug
Location: maryland
May 18, 2013 7:37 pm
This Bug Is Black With A Red Butt, 6Legs, Its Antennas Looked Orange On The Tips No Wings Though. I’m Located In Westminster Maryland. I Found The Eggs UnderneatH My Porch Railing.
Signature: please help

Wheel Bug Hatchlings

Wheel Bug Hatchlings

These are newly hatched Wheel Bugs.  They will soon disperse and lead a solitary life, growing into winged adult Wheel Bugs, a species of Assassin Bug with a distinctive crest.

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Vespid Wasp Nest from Costa Rica

On · Category: Hornets and Yellow Jackets · 2 Comments

Subject: bees
Location: costa rica
May 19, 2013 2:07 pm
Hi!
we saw these nest of bees, in Costa Rica.
We saw very well the activity inside the nest!
Any idea about the species? Not easy, I can believe!
thanks
fred
Signature: fred from belgium

Paper Wasp Nest

Vespid Wasp Nest

Hi Fred,
These are not bees.  They are Paper Wasps in the genus Polistes. 

Paper Wasp Nest

Vespid Wasp Nest

We found a matching photo on Nature.Com on a page entitled An Introduction to Eusociality, but they are only identified to the genus level.

Paper Wasps: genus Polistes

Vespid Wasps: genus Polybia

Correction courtesy of Cesar Crash via comment:  Polybia species
Thanks to Cesar’s comment, we looked up his link to the Animal Communications Project where we scrutized the photo of the Polybia Wasps.  We did a web search of the genus and found BugEric which mentions they are Vespid Wasps.  Eric writes:  “Thanks to Google image searches, I eventually pinpointed the wasp as the species Polybia emaciata. It is one of the few social vespid wasps that builds its nest of mud instead of paper. The more durable nature of the mud envelope allows the wasps to “hunker down” or flee when faced with a potential attack by a vertebrate predator. Contrast this behavior with the violent attacks launched by social wasps that build relatively flimsy nests of paper.”  Thanks to Eric’s comments, we have moved this to the Hornets and Yellow Jackets category.

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